Laws
by Chaos Eternus
Summary: Epsiode Related: KLG2 What Lee should have done...


**Laws  
by chaoseternus**

**Episode Related: Kobols Last Gleaming II  
What Lee should have done... **

Such a simple thing, one off comment from Cally about Roslin being the second President to be removed from office. Under normal circumstances, innocuous and unimportant, but today, today it meant everything.

Tracking down one of the ships Complete copies of the Laws governing the Military was easy, as Commander his Father was required to have a copy and it was a mere matter of seconds to find it open, on his desk

Searching for the relevant passages took longer, they had to page him twice over the ships intercom before he found what he needed, and then he carefully and with a sinking heart, marked one very important page and walked with the book to the bay, ignoring the insistent complaints and threats from Tigh.

He stayed quiet on the journey across, he had liked Roslin, he didn't want o do this, but whether she liked it or not, she had screwed up big time, and however much she was trying to complain over the jammed radios about the illegality of this action, it wasn't. Not that Tigh knew that or course, he doubted Tigh would have bothered to even check if there was a legal way to do this.

After all, Adama said Roslin should be arrested and to him that was that.

The Secret Service guards resisted of course, but they were no match for trained Marines.

And then, the stand-off, marines pointing rifles at her Guards and trying to ignore the pistols that were slap bang in their faces. Roslin manipulating the press, trying to make out she was the injured party, that the law was on her side. It was sickening, she had once said to him that she had never wanted to be in politics, that she had always told herself she would get out, but now, he could see it for the lie it was.

Roslin was a politician at heart, and in her soul.

Once, after a particularly bad visit from the Committee of Military spending, his father had said that politicians were dirty to their very souls. He had never said anything similar since, not where he could hear at least, but Lee had caught the look in his eye and knew that at that moment, his father believed it.

He hadn't understood it then, but he understood it know.

Tigh had fallen straight into it, into her manipulations, and the Press were eating it up, big bad XO come to tear down the legal government and replace it with a military dictatorship.

No, his father was in the right here and he wasn't going to let the arsehole Tigh endanger that, endanger his Fathers good name.

"What the hell do you think your doing?"

"My Duty," he replied firmly, pistol pointed firmly at Tighs head, "you have let emotions control and that is not what this situation needs, this situation needs the law"

"Exactly, now…"

"Shut up," he shouted, enjoying the startled look on Roslin's face at the venom in his words.

"Now," he turned back to Tigh, "back off, and let's do this properly"

He nodded as Tigh backed off, but he knew to be careful now, Tigh was bright enough to figure out he had a plan, but he knew Tigh would not hesitate if he felt things were not going well.

Best do this properly then.

"President Roslin, I am hereby placing you under arrest pending investigation into crimes which if verified, carry the death penalty under Colonial Law. To whit, that you did Suborn an Officer of the Colonial Navy to disobey the order of a direct superior in wartime and that you do suborn an officer to abscond with restricted equipment in wartime"

"I am the President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol," Roslin replied, as if talking to a simple child, "I have the legal right to give orders to the military"

"Not exactly," Lee replied, "you have the power to declare war, you have the power to affect our budget or would if that mattered anymore, you have the power to determine new construction and you have the power to give orders to the Chain of Command"

Lee shook his head, "you bypassed the Chain of Command, and therefore your actions were illegal and like President Elist, you can be held accountable for them"

Lee held Roslins eye, trying desperately hard to ignore the pleased chuckling of Tigh behind him, "the fourth President of the Colonies, and the only one to ever be hung"

"Elist committed treason"

"In times of war," Lee replied, "the crimes you have committed are classed as treason, and you are under arrest"

Sometimes, Lee thought ruefully to himself, Duty really sucked. But then, a bad situation was no excuse for breaking the law, not on Roslins part, and not on Tighs. If you're going to do something do it properly, and legally.

* * *

I do not own, nor do I claim ownership of charcaters and/or concepts from the new battlestar galactica. 


End file.
